Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray
by chelsXXchels
Summary: The crowd’s roars flooded my ears. I looked over to my right and smiled even bigger. He looked back at me, curls bouncing on top of his head, and smiled back. This is the life, I thought, doing what I love with the person I love.
1. Alive

The crowd's roars flooded my ears

**Author's Note: **_Okay, as most of you know, my story was UNFORTUNATELY reported and deleted (thank you SkyeGavin). Anyway, I'm finally allowed to post stories again, so I'm reposting it… hehe, but, I'm changing it. Instead of JB, it's Connect Three, instead of Nick Jonas, it's Nate Gray, Joe is Shane, Kevin is Jason, Frankie is Freddy – Jason's little brother, Denise is Lucy – Nate and Shane's mom, Kevin Sr. is Dan – Jason's dad, and Moe is Big Rob (actually, I think their first body guard's name was Moe…). Anyway, all of the famous people that I were going to feature in this story are know going to have their names changed. So, I will let you know that Jane Doe is actually Madonna and etc. In addition to reposting these chapters, I posted a brand new one too! Thank you guy's for reading._

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Alive

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating:**** T… 13+… language and possible sexual content in future**

**Disclaimer:**** I PROMISE, I do not own Camp Rock or its characters. The theme and plot of this story are mine as are SubZero, Katie, and Ellie.**

The crowd's roars flooded my ears. I half-smiled half-laughed at their reactions. Never, _never, _would I have thought that they would go this crazy… I couldn't believe it. I looked over to my right and smiled even bigger. He looked back at me, curls bouncing on top of his head, and smiled back. He through his left hand up, which was intertwined with my right hand, and then through it back as we both bent down in a bow.

This is the life, I thought. Doing what I love, with the person I love…

--

I paced nervously backstage, running the back of my hand across my sweaty forehead. I could hear the crowd outside, anxiously awaiting the opening act: _us_; SubZero; my sister, Ellie, and I; a rock duo.

"Katie?" my sister's voice asked sharply, "you ready?" I looked up at her, panic flooding through me. Seriously, could you ever be fully prepared for your first show with thousands of people outside expecting something amazing?

"Uh," I said, clearing my throat, "yeah." Boy, was that a lie. I started jumping up and down and shaking my hands at my sides, a trick my mom had shown me to "shake the nerves away". Let's just say it wasn't working, at all.

"Hey," a soft voice cut smoothly into my thoughts, like a knife through butter. I turned around to see a medium-height floppy haired boy decked in tight jeans, a tee shirt, and converse. "You nervous?"

Boy was that a stupid question or what? "Yeah," I managed. I started noticing that I wasn't saying what I was thinking in my head, like I usually did, thanks to the nerves.

He smiled at me, "Don't be nervous. Once you get out there, just feed off the crowd's energy, they'll love you guys."

I smiled. "Thanks, Nate," I said appreciatively. That's right, Nate Gray, one-third of Connect Three, the band that my sister and I got the unbelievable chance to open for. I'd only met him 3 weeks ago, but already he was becoming a great friend. Our personalities just clicked and we laughed constantly. Plus, he gave _great_ advice. And now we are on tour together.

No, not the same tour bus or anything, but they let us ride theirs instead of being cramped up in our little van. I wasn't sure how long they would let us do this until they got tired of us, considering we had only started driving 2 days ago.

"No problem," Nate set a reassuring hand on my shoulder and sent a beaming smile my way.

"Katie, Ellie!" I heard coming from in front of me, "get up there!" It was Sean, the stage manager… and it was time for us to go on.

"Just have fun," Nate reminded me, removing his hand. I gulped deeply and turned, following my sister.

We followed Sean to the side of the stage where we were going to walk on. The opening act just walks on the stage, the Jonas Brothers get to come up through some hidden trap door. Ellie started to walk out and I walked behind her, my breaths uneven and shaky. I could feel the blood pulsing through my veins. The crowd went wild. What happened in the next hour was when I began to live. Never before in my life have I _ever_ felt _so alive_.


	2. Speed Bumps

Author's Note: Okay, for some stupid and unknown reason, my last chapter was somewhat messed up

**Author's Note:** _And here is chapter two, reposted of course…_

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Speed Bumps

_By: Chelsea Hall_

**Rating****: T… 13+… language and possible sexual content in future**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Camp Rock or its characters (no matter how much I wish I did). The themes, plots, and other characters are the product of my nutty, crazy head and they belong to me.**

"Hey! What was that for?" Nate asked, rubbing the back on his neck where I had just smacked him.

"For being you!" I answered, "You don't have to be so sarcastic all the time you know." I stared at him.

Nate rolled his eyes at me. "I'm being lectured about my sarcasm from the Queen of Sarcastic and Snarky Comments herself," he looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

I was sitting next to Nate on the couch on their tour bus. We were on our way to Oklahoma City and instead of being cooped up in our cramped van, Ellie and I were invited to ride on the bus. Last night had been our first show and it was amazing, I was counting the hours to our next one: which was now at 28 hours.

I stared at Nate incredulously. It was true; we could go back and forth all day with our sarcastic ways. "Whatever," I rolled my eyes and picked up the nearest magazine on the table next to me. It was Red Book. I stared at it blankly for a moment. "Why do you have Red Book?" I asked, tossing the magazine at him.

Nate picked it up and looked at the cover. He shrugged. "It's not mine," he said.

I raised my right eyebrow, a skill that I had now perfected. "Are you sure?" I asked jokingly.

"Yeah," he answered self-righteously, "but you might want to ask Shane." His smile widened and he chuckled slightly.

"What?" a deep voice said. Shane was walking towards us from the opposite end of the bus. "Ask me what?"

I stifled a laugh, "Nothing." Shane looked at me curiously. "Uh-huh," he said. Shane looked back and forth from me to Nate, raised an eyebrow, and then walked off. As soon as we could no longer see his back, we busted out in laughter, no longer able to contain ourselves. Nothing extremely funny had happened, but we were in a slightly-giddy mood.

After a few minutes, we began to calm down. Nate yawned and sleepily rubbed his eye with his hand.

"Tired?" I asked, rotating my silver ring on my ring finger that had 'hope' imprinted on it. I had taken my vow of purity when I turned 13 and my sister did the same the next year when she turned 13.

Nate sighed deeply. "Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night," he said, running a hand through his curls.

I brought my eyebrows together. "Why not?" I asked curiously. He hadn't said anything to me before.

"I'm not sure," he replied, "I just couldn't get to sleep." I nodded my head understanding perfectly.

I reached over his lap and grabbed the remote that he had been sitting next to. I hit the red 'power' button and the TV set that was across from Nate and I popped into life. "Let's see," I sighed, flipping through the channels. "What do you want to watch?" I through my head over and looked at Nate and he shrugged. "You're a lot of help," I smiled.

"Why thank you," he retorted with a grin, "You are so kind."

I huffed, "Yeah, yeah." I continued flipping through the channels. "Hey," I said, stopping on a channel, "there's a Heroes marathon on."

"Alright," Nate said excitedly. "Hours and hours of Hayden Panettiere kicking ass, I love it!"

I smiled at him and rolled my eyes. "You are such a typical _guy,_" I lamented.

Nate looked over at me. "Would you rather me be a typical girl?" he said smartly. I picked up the pillow that was next to me and through it over at him, hitting him in the head. "Hey, that wasn't very nice," he said. "You know, you can be abusive at times."

I looked away and at the TV. I had never really seen Hereos but a couple of times, but I knew that Nate loved it. Plus, I owed him after forcing him to watch The Bachelor with me. So, honestly I had no idea which character was which.

I laid my head back on the couch. I, too, was tired. I was starting to learn that this lifestyle was a tiring one and that you should nap when you got the chance. But, I was too much about living, so instead of going to sleep right when I got the chance, I made Ellie have a dance party with me. And instead of napping during the 3 hours I had free time, I hung out with Nate.

I closed my eyes and heaved. I heard Nate's breathing start to become even. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. He had his legs propped up on the coffee table and his left arm thrown to the side, propping his head up. To tell the truth, he didn't look very comfortable, but Nate was like me, he could sleep in the strangest positions and not care. His eyes were closed and he was definitely asleep.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes again.

--

My eyes quickly fluttered open. We must have hit a speed bump. I looked around and realized that my legs were up underneath me and my head was on Nate's shoulder. I looked up at his face and realized that he was still asleep. He must have woken up and rearranged himself, I thought.

I brought my hand up and began to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I flew up slightly when we hit another speed bump and my elbow lurched into Nate's side. His eyes flew open. "Sorry," I said apologetically, "we hit a bump."

Nate looked down at me, he looked exhausted. "It's alright," he attempted a smile but instead yawned. "What time is it?"

I shrugged and looked around. "Um," I said blinking so that my eyes would focus on the clock, "5."

"Well, that was a nice 2 hour nap, huh?" he asked lightly. I smiled. 2 hours was a long nap for me, but short for Nate.

"Nate?" Shane's voice cut in as he walked into the small room on the bus. When he saw us he stopped speaking and looked inquisitively at us as I realized that my head was still on Nate's shoulder.

"Yeah," Nate said, he still sounded exhausted.

"Mom told me to come get you, we're at the hotel," Shane finished. He gave us a final glance and then walked out.

_So that would explain all of the speed bumps_, I thought, _we're_ _in a parking lot._

I lifted my head up off of Nate's shoulder and he leaned forward, stretching his back. "I think I'm more tired now than I was before," he joked.

"Yeah, me too," I agreed, yawning, "And I'm starving."

Nate looked at me. "Uh, you are _always_ starving," he said. It was true. All through Jr. High my friends had always joked "eats like a pig, looks like a twig".

I stood up, as did Nate, and we began to walk to the front of the bus. I hopped down off of the steps and my feet hit the pavement with a thud. My mom was standing there waiting for me and Ellie.

"See ya later," I waved at Nate as got off the bus and began to walk towards the hotel.

"Yeah, I'll call ya," he replied and waved as he disappeared through the doors.

Nate and his brothers always stayed at the nice hotels. We always stayed at a cheap hotel or motel since we didn't have as much money as the Connect Three. I walked over to our small white van and slid open the side door. I climbed in and crawled into the back and Ellie did the same, sitting down next to me. "Off to some rat's nest," she said smirking.

**Author's Note:** _Thank you guys so much for reading! I hoped ya'll enjoyed it. In the next few chapters we'll start bringing in some drama and action. This one was more of a carry-over chapter and so ya'll could start understanding Nate and Katie's relationship. Thanks again!_


	3. Yawns Are Contagious

Author's Note: Please note that the town Daisy Falls, as for as I know, does not exist

**Author's Note:** _Please note that the town Daisy Falls, as for as I know, does not exist. I made it up. Anyway, here's chapter three. Reviews always welcome!_

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Yawns Are Contagious 

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating****: T… 13+… language and possible sexual content in future**

**Disclaimer****: I DO NOT own Camp Rock or its characters. I do own the theme and plot of this story as well as my own characters.**

"Ugh…" I groaned as I twisted around in the uncomfortable motel room bed as my cell phone blared "Play My Music" by the Connect Three; Nate's ringtone. I flopped my hand over on the side table and tried to locate my phone in the dark before it woke up Ellie, who was in the other bed. Finally I found it and brought it up to my ear as I glanced over at the alarm clock… 3:00 a.m.

"What the hell do you want at 3 in the morning?" I grumbled into the phone. I propped my head up on my arm.

I could hear Nate chuckle on the other end of the phone. "I said I was going to call you, didn't I?" he stated.

"Yes, but you said nothing about 3 in the morning!" my voice rose and then suddenly I remembered Ellie. I got up out of the bed and stood, making a face at how rough the carpet felt under my feet. I groped for some shoes and then walked across the room to the bathroom and closed myself in.

"Well, I had to wake up for a radio interview in Australia and I remembered that I'd promise to call so I decided to do it before I forgot," he sounded way to cheerful for 3 in the morning. _Probably because he knows how much this is bugging me_, I thought.

I sighed into the phone. "Well, this is one promise I would be okay with you breaking," I said a little more chipper.

"I thought so, but you are just so darn unpredictable that I couldn't be sure," he said, the sarcasm heavy.

"Yeah, well maybe the next darn unpredictable thing I do will be to blackout from exhaustion and stab you with a fork," I said, returning the sarcasm.

"Don't worry, the army of spoons beside my bed will protect me," I could actually hear his smirk across the phone.

I shook my head unable to come up with a snarky reply. "Sorry Nate, I can't respond to that," it was _way_ too early for me.

"Can't respond or can't _come up_ with a response?" he asked. I could hear the satisfaction in his voice.

"You know," I kept it simple.

"I finally stumped you," he said triumphantly. We were silent for a few moments and I heard a faint yawn come across the phone.

"See? 3 in the morning is too early for you too," I said grumpily, attempting to stifle a yawn – those things are contagious, you know.

"Yeah, I got to be back up in 3 and a half hours, so I think I'm going to go back to sleep," he yawned again. Apparently the yawning was just going to go back and forth in between us.

"Alright," I said, "Goodnight." Yep, I yawned.

"Goodnight," Nate said and then hung up the phone. I closed mine, left the bathroom, and walked back over to my bed. I crawled into the hard, itchy sheets and laid down. It didn't take long to go back to sleep because, like I said, it was 3 in the morning.

--

_2 days later…_

I stepped out of the air conditioned building and into the unforgiving May heat. We had just finished an in-radio station at KRBE. KRBE was Houston's top 40 station and they were debuting our first single, Over It, this afternoon and wanted to accompany it with an interview.

We were currently in Houston, Texas and tonight would be our fourth show. I was particularly happy to be in Texas, considering it's our home. Ellie and I grew up in Daisy Falls, only half an hour from Houston. Ellie's best friend Caitlin was coming to the show to night and she was going to hang out with us for a little bit afterwards, but none of my so-called "friends" were coming.

When my friends found out they I had gotten a record deal, they basically turned on me. My mom kept telling me it was jealousy. Even my two best friends, Kassi and Elizabeth turned on me, and they turned the worst. Kassi went as low as to spread rumors, but Elizabeth just ignored me. They started hanging out with Claire, a girl they knew I couldn't stand, and would basically make a spectacle of me wherever I went. They would point, laugh, make jokes, just be plain rude. So, in all honesty, I had no desire to see any of my friends.

I followed Ellie into our small van as we drove over to the arena. We arrived at the Toyota Center at 5 and we didn't perform until 7:30.

We walked into the arena and went immediately to our small dressing room where I put on blue jeans and a read t-shirt that said "Forever Young" and black converse. I don't know why we always had to get dressed so early. My only guess would be so that we weren't rushing around at last minute to do it.

By the time Ellie and I finished, it was 6, and the arena was already starting to gather people. I walked around backstage, searching for one particular curly haired boy who I hadn't talked to all day.

"Looking for someone?" I had from behind me. I immediately knew that it was Nate. I turned to see him standing behind me.

"Yes…" I said slowly, "how long have you been there?"

"Well, I followed you when you walked over there," he pointed to where I had previously been, "and there," he pointed to another one, "and here," he pointed at the ground. He smiled mischievously at me.

"Sneaky, aren't you?" I asked.

"You know it," he said, clearly satisfied. "You know, we haven't talked all day," he said, starting to walk towards his dressing room.

"I know that," I pointed out, "but I wasn't going to call you and interrupt some random interview that I didn't know about." Nate usually called me because my schedule was simple and easy and his was more complicated.

"Yeah, but you had that interview today and I didn't know if you were like gonna get mobbed by crazy fans," he joked. _Haha_, I thought and gave him a death stare.

We walked into his dressing room, which was about three times the size of ours, and walked over to the couch. "Guitar Hero?" he asked, picking up the little fake guitar.

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You only asked to play because you know that you will win, which is no fair," I said. Nate and I always played to see who could get a better score.

"So? It's not my fault you suck and you're the only person I can beat," he said, turning on the TV. Nate wasn't all that great at the game either and he could never beat his brothers, but yet, he could always beat me.

I grunted and reluctantly played Guitar Hero with him. Me being me, I can only do one thing for so long and after 45 minutes I was bored and so I said so.

"You get bored a lot," Nate pointed out. "So what do you propose we do? We still have another 30 minutes."

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said, "just not this."

Nate sighed and looked at me. "We could go and check out the crowd," he said, already starting to head for the door because he knew I would agree to it.

I smiled. "You know it," I cheered and followed out of the room. Checking out the crowd was one of my favorite things to do. Nate and I would always go right up to the stage and peer out. We would always do it when the stage crew was going back and forth so that no one would notice our heads.

We walked straight up the stairs that were the entrance (at least for Ellie and I) to the stage. Nate peered his head around first and then I did.

"Nothing funny tonight," he said glumly. Normally we would laugh at funny signs or something, but signs weren't allowed at this show.

"Hm," I said, searching for something. That's when I saw them. My heart started to pound at an alarmingly fast rate and my stomach practically lurched into my throat. "I can't perform tonight."

**Author's Note:** _Thank_ _you all for reading and I hoped ya'll enjoyed it!!_


	4. Show Them

Author's Note: Okay guys, here's chapter four

**Author's Note:**_ And here's chapter four. If you like it (or don't) don't be afraid to review!_

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Show Them

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating****: T… 13+… language**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Connect Three or any of its characters. I own only my own characters.**

"I can't perform tonight."

"What?" Nate's voice was sharp as he glared at me, "what do you mean?"

I shut my eyes and gulped. "Do you remember," I began, "when I told you about Elizabeth and Kassi?" I bit my lower lip and opened my eyes.

Nate shook his head. "Of course," he said, his expression blank.

I looked back into the crowd. "You see the group of kids talking in the third row," I said, looking at a group of 15 year olds, "the 3 boys and 4 girls right in the middle."

Nate looked silently. "Oh," he said, locating them. "Is that them?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head, I didn't need to explain. Plus, I was afraid that if I started talking, I would start crying. I liked to pretend that the whole situation didn't bother me, but I was also a good actress. To tell the truth, it tore me apart. They were my best friends and had loved them like sisters. When they turned on my I thought that I would never quite crying.

Nate was looking at me, thoughtfully and caringly. "You okay?" he asked tenderly.

I started to nod that I was, but I couldn't lie – not to Nate, and if I did, he would know it. I shook my head 'no'. I could feel the tears starting to form so I quickly shut my eyes to prevent them from falling.

"Come on," Nate said, putting his arm around me to lead me. I opened my eyes as we walked to his dressing room, which was a mistake. As soon as I opened my eyes, the tears came pouring down as if my eyelids were acting as levis and they suddenly broke.

Nate led me through the door and to the couch, where he sat down next to me with his arm still around me. I could tell that there was no stopping the tears now that they had started and I began to sob.

"Why are they here?" I cried. Nate put his other arm around me and hugged me. I leaned my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his stomach. "Why did they have to come here?" I cried into his chest.

"They just want to bother you," Nate said comfortingly. He started to rub my back with his hand. "They're trying to get to you."

"Well, it's working," my words were almost muffled by Nate's shirt. I could fell Nate shaking his head.

"You can't because that's giving them what they want. You have to go out there and show them that you're better," Nate unwrapped his arms and held me out so that he could look me in the eyes, "you have to go out there and give the best show you've ever given and show them."

I had to show them… that made all the sense in the world. I had told Nate everything they had said to me, and so he knew which of their words had bothered me the most. I had to show them.

I nodded my head and started to wipe away my tears.

"SubZero to the entrance!" I heard Sean, the stage manager, yell from outside.

"I better go," I said, sniffling. Nate shook his head.

"You can do it," he said standing up, "I know you can and are better than them."

I smiled, "Thanks." I turned and walked from the room and to the entrance. Ben, a member of the stage crew, handed me my maroon based Gibson guitar – it was my favorite guitar and I had saved up for it for over a year.

I walked out onto the stage, looking into the crowd. It was an outdoor arena and it was still daylight, so I could see all 7 of them clearly. Everyone else close to the stage was jumping up and down excitedly, but they were sitting in their chairs, arms crossed.

Lucas, Nathan, Kassi, Claire, Jake, Elizabeth, and Brooke. They were all staring at me. Lucas, I can't believe I used to actually have a crush on that jerk. Nathan, he had always been rude to me, so his behavior was expected. Kassi, she had once been my absolute best friend. Claire, I never liked her or her fake niceness. Jake, I had gone on two dates with Jake at the beginning of the year. Elizabeth, I used to consider her a sister. Brooke, we had been friends, not best, but friends none-the-less.

I tore my eyes from where they were sitting. Nate's words echoed around in my head, _"Show them that you're better. Give the best show you've ever given and _**show them**_."_

I had to show them. I had to have my revenge. I wasn't as cruel as them, so I couldn't get back at them the way that they had all been getting to me. But this was my turf – my chance.

I began to strum my guitar to our first song, Who You Are. Those first few strings were the toughest strings I have ever played in my life. Tougher then the first ones of Yankee Doodle, the first song I played on the guitar. Even tougher than the ones to You and Me, the first song I had written with a guitar.

But it was only the first few strings that were tough. Once I looked out into the crowd and saw all of the cheering people and then looked back at them, sitting there and staring at me, I began to play my heart out. I played my heart out for Ellie, for the fans, to go against what _they_ thought of me, for Nate, and for me.

"Don't worry Katie, it's healthy to dream," Claire's words rang in my ears.

"Like you'll amount to anything," Kassi's biting tone was hurtful.

"You'll be back here by next year," I could still hear Elizabeth's rudeness as if she had just said it.

_They_ were wrong. I _was_ good, I _would_ be a successful musician… they were _wrong_ and _I_ would show them.


	5. The Better Person

The strokes the juicebox

**Author's Note:** _Okay, now that I reposted all of those, here is a new chapter. Don't be afraid to review!!_

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

The Better Person

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating****: T… 13+… language and possible sexual content in future**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Connect Three or any of its characters. I own only my own characters.**

I heard a quick and steady rasp on the door of our dressing room. "Uh, come in," I said carelessly while flipping through a magazine.

"You really shouldn't be that careless for whom you let come in here," I heard the familiar voice of Nate say. He looked down at me. I was sitting on the small couch that was crammed into the tiny room. Ellie had just gone to Caitlin, her best friend who had come to the show tonight.

I raised my eyebrows. "Should I be afraid of wimpy 16 year old boys knocking on my door?" I asked jokingly.

"Wimpy?" Nate's voice was raspy, "Wimpy? Did you just call me wimpy?" He reached over the arm of the couch and wrapped his arms around my waist. Nate aimed for the ground and started falling, pulling me with him.

"Hey!" I yelled in surprise… he had just tackled me! I squirmed awkwardly. Nate still had his arms around me and we were squished between the couch and the coffee table. We sat up and I was practically sitting on his lap in the small space.

I turned to look at Nate only to find him smiling at me. "You did great," he said, the smile still spread across his face.

I knew immediately what he was talking about. Only 2 hours ago I had performed the best I ever had… and probably the best I ever will. I could only smile. There was no way I could find the words to explain it… I had tried to put what I was feeling into thoughts in my head but it was pointless. I tried to explain it to Ellie, but I had just ended up confusing her tremendously.

"So," Nate said, "how did it feel?" _Of course he would ask me that_, I thought.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came. "I don't know," I said stupidly. "I mean, I don't know how to describe it… it's almost beyond words," I corrected myself.

Nate looked at me with a straight face and nodded. "Yeah…" he trailed off. He didn't have to say it, but I knew that he understood.

"Katie!" I heard as the door flew open. As soon as Ellie looked into the room and at me on the floor sitting on Nate's lap with his arms awkwardly wrapped around me she raised her eyebrows. "I don't want to know!" she threw her hands up, "I was just coming to tell you that Lucy and mom were talking and we are all going out to eat." Lucy was Nate and Shane's mom; her and my mom got along great and were now practically best friends.

I smiled, noticing Caitlin behind her. "Okay. Hi Caitlin!" I said, trying to lighten the mood. I think Ellie knew that Nate and I weren't doing anything, but I could only imagine how we must look.

Caitlin returned the 'hi' before her and Ellie waved and left the room. I turned to look at Nate and his eyes were wide. I instantly could feel the laughter rising in my stomach as the corners of his lips started to rise. We only chuckled at first… which led us to full-on laughter. We laughed so hard that we actually ended up falling over, sticking ourselves in our original awkward position.

"I guess we should get going," Nate said, starting to calm down. "Yeah," I agreed, my head lying on his chest.

Nate tried to stand up, but was unsuccessful because I was on top of him. "Humph," I groaned, trying to untangle my right leg from underneath his left one. After a moment, I stood and held out a hand to help him up. Nate took it and joined me in a standing position.

I grabbed the magazine I had been reading off of the couch and headed towards the door. Ellie and I had packed all of our other stuff while Connect Three was performing.

"I'm starving," I mumbled, waiting for Nate to close the door.

He looked at me with a raised brow. "That's not a surprise," he said loftily. I simply stared at him. Nate was constantly teasing me for my appetite, but that was something that I just couldn't help.

--

We walked into the Cracker Barrel that we had seen on our way into Houston. Jason, Shane, and Nate had been saying that they had never been to one and Ellie and I were shocked. We had grown up with Cracker Barrel and loved the place.

"Party of 11," I heard my mom tell the hostess. I looked around, I hadn't realized that there were that many of us. Ellie, Caitlin, Jason, Shane, Nate, my mom, Lucy - Nate and Shane's mom, Dan – Jason's dad, Freddy – Jason's little brother, Rachel – Connect Three's manager that traveled with them, and myself. Oh, and of course Moe, Connect Three's body guard, but he wasn't eating, he would stand near the table.

"Right this way," the lady said and immediately led us to a large table. I was guessing that there was no wait on a table because of how late it was.

The table was located in a corner and there was only one other table occupied in the entire room and the occupants were an elderly couple. I sat close to the end of the table, Ellie and Caitlin on my right, and Nate to my left. I lifted my menu and started reading.

"So, what's good?" Nate leaned over and whispered in my ear. I involuntarily smiled.

I pursed my lips and wrinkled my brow as if I was in deep concentration. "Well, I personally like the grilled chicken tenderloins, but the chicken and dumplings is very good too," I said in a serious, business-like manner.

Nate nodded his head thoughtfully. "Hm," he thought, scanning the menu. I heard footsteps; someone else was joining us in the dining room. I instinctively turned my head and hated what I saw…

"What's wrong?" Nate asked quietly, noticing my face. He turned to look at what I was looking at and his jaw dropped.

Elizabeth, Kassi, Claire, Brooke, Lucas, Jake, and Nathan were sitting down at a table closer to the middle of the room, but they had a clear view of me and our table.

"What are they doing here?" I whispered in disbelief, turning back around slowly.

Nate gulped. "Well, it could be a coincidence," he said, not very convincingly. I looked at him, Houston was a big town and I doubted that. "Or they could have followed the bus, it is kind of hard to miss," he suggested.

I flopped my head against my hand. "Nate," I spoke desperately, but his expression cut me off. He was looking past me at something. His expression was strange and I was almost scared to turn and see what he was looking at. I averted my eyes to the ground next to me and started to look for what he could be looking at.

I immediately saw it and recognized it. Walking towards us was an average height blond girl accompanied by two slightly taller girls, one with brown and the other with black hair. _Shit_, I thought as my heart began jumping into my throat.

"Hey Katie!" a shrill voice spoke. _Claire_, I thought. I would recognize that voice anywhere, laced with its fake niceness and empty compliments. It was almost humorous to me how easily she could spit out compliments and not mean a single one, but when she insulted you she meant it with all the vain and cruelty she possessed in her 5'6½" frame.

I tried to smile, but it ended up looking more like someone had just poked me with a pencil.

"The show was great," I could hear it. How was it that someone could insult you by disguising it as a compliment? "I don't think Nathan liked it too much, but you know him," I looked up her for the first time. She was glaring down at me, her blue eyes practically burning a hole in my head. She was smiling, but it wasn't a 'I'm so happy to see you' smile, it was a 'I want to rip you apart' smile.

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Claire asked, sounding innocent.

I clenched my jaw. I wanted to respond with something snarky, I had plenty of ideas in my head, but I felt Nate elbow my side. I needed to be the better person. "Of course," I smiled, but it probably looked more like a grimace. I turned back around to the table only to discover that almost everyone was watching. "This is Nate, Freddy, Dan, Rachel, Lucy, Shane, Jason, and you know my mom, Ellie, and Caitlin," I pointed to everyone as I went around the table.

I didn't want to look back up at Claire, but I forced myself too. But, instead of focusing on her face, my gaze drifted to the girl on her right: Kassi. Why was it that Kassi's betrayal hurt me the most? When I thought of it, it felt like a knife slicing straight through me.

I stared up at her for a minute. She, too, was staring at me. Her brown eyes, the eyes that used to have tenderness and look at me with love were now looking at me with nothing but pure coldness and hate. I closed my eyes and looked over to Claire's left: Elizabeth.

I wasn't sure why but Elizabeth's betrayal didn't sting like Kassi's. It was probably because Elizabeth had yet to insult me, to my face anyway. Kassi had a number of times, but I don't think Elizabeth had the heart to.

Elizabeth was wearing her color contacts that hid her brown eyes and made them baby blue. I, personally, had liked the brown eyes, but she was in love with the blue ones. She, unlike Kassi, hadn't been staring at me. Instead she had been looking around the table. I'm pretty sure she felt me looking at her because she looked down at me. Her eyes weren't hard and cold like Kassi's and Claire's. They were soft, I don't know if her eyes could ever be cruel, if _she_ could ever be out-right cruel. She only laughed when Claire or Kassi started it, but she never started anything.

"We miss you at school, Katie," Claire's shrill voice cut through my thoughts. I looked away from Elizabeth to Claire. "Well, not a whole lot," Claire added as if it were an afterthought.

I lowered my eyes, not wanting to look at her. _Why can't they just leave?_ I thought helplessly. I looked over at Ellie and Caitlin. They were both looking at me sympathetically. Every day that I had come home crying from school they had been there for me. Even though Caitlin was Ellie's friend, she was like a second little sister to me.

"When are you coming back?" that was the first time I heard Kassi's voice in 2½ months, besides in my head, and I hated that it had to be like this.

I shook my head. I was afraid to speak. The feelings that had been present before the show returned to me full force.

"Is that supposed to mean your _not_ coming back?" Claire asked. She knew the answer, but she had to make me feel like a specimen, a test subject to her latest sneers.

I nodded my head. I had already made it clear to my mom that even if this didn't work out, I wasn't going back to school. I would pay for Susan, my tutor, to keep teaching me until I graduated in 3 years.

"But," Kassi started and I already knew what she was going to say, "What are you going to do when you are finished playing rock-star?" Her voice held bitterness, bitterness that used to not exist. _I had created that bitterness_, I thought, _I created it when I told her I was making a record. _I was know staring down at my menu which lay on the table as my chin started to tremble and I tried with all of my strength to will it to stop.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," Claire finished, "but we must get back to _our friends_." I listened as their footsteps started and then trailed off. I could feel people looking at me, but I had no desire to know who was so I continued staring at my menu.

My chin started to tremble more as I could feel my eyes becoming watery. "I'll be right back," I said standing up and walking away from the table and into the gift shop that doubled as the waiting room. I walked aisle after aisle and was no longer visible to anyone. I was headed for the girl's restroom which was in the back until I heard my name called.

"What?" I said, turning around in the middle of an aisle of stuffed animals to discover Nate coming up behind me. I hadn't even heard anyone get up behind me.

"You okay?" he said, coming to a stop in front of me. I could see the concern etched in his face.

I shook my head and whispered "No," not even attempting to lie this time. Apparently that was all it was going to take, one simple word, for the tears to start coming. Almost immediately, they were streaming down my face like a river. I felt Nate's arms wrap around my neck as he leaned his head over on mine. He began to stoke my back comfortingly.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered consolingly. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. I was now sobbing and they were causing my entire body to shake. I opened my mouth several things to try and say something along the lines of "I hate them" or "Why are they so mean?" but I was unable to say anything. Pretty soon, all I was aware of was Nate's shoulder, which would have tear stains for surely forever, his arms wrapped around me, and the hand stroking my back.

It felt like hours passed as I cried into his shoulder, but I was sure it was only minutes. The tears stopped flowing as quickly and my body stopped shaking. I unwrapped one of my arms from around Nate's waist and started to wipe my eyes.

"Nate," I said, taking a step back so that I could look at him in the eyes.

"It's no problem," he said before I could finish saying thank you. I smiled up at him. What did I do to deserve such a great friend? He started to run his hands up and down my arms in a comforting way. "You okay now?"

I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm going to go to the restroom and wash my face before I go back to the table," I said, wiping away a stray tear near my mouth.

"Okay, I'm going to head back," Nate smiled at me. He turned and shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk and then suddenly stopped. Turning to his left, he reached out and grabbed something off of the shelf. "Ha!" he said, holding up a small, pink, stuffed pig, "it's you!"

I laughed, "Haha, very funny." Nate smiled over at me and set the pig back down, "I know." He always knew how to make me smile.

I turned and walked through the aisles and found the restroom.

--

Going back into the dining room wasn't easy and I wasn't excited about it. I had walked at a very leisurely pace through the aisles, I had even stopped and played with that pink pig, but returning was the inevitable.

I wasn't as scared of Claire and Kassi and Elizabeth as I was everyone at my table. They would do one of two things: go on like it was no big deal or acknowledge it and ask me if I was okay. Honestly, I didn't like either option. I didn't want them to pretend that nothing had happened, but I didn't want to them to have a fuss over me either.

I casually strolled through the dining room, avoided looking at a certain table, and over to the table where a plate of grilled chicken tenderloins with corn and mac and cheese were waiting for me. I sat down and looked at my plate confused. I hadn't ordered anything.

"I knew your favorite vegetable was corn, you would probably die without macaroni and cheese, and you said that 'grilled chicken tenderloins' were your favorite," Nate said into my ear. I looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks," I said back. He had done a good job. I always had grilled chicken tenderloins with macaroni and either corn or okra.

No one beside Ellie and Caitlin asked me if I was okay, although my mom talked to me afterwards on the van. Everyone else just smiled at me. For the rest of the meal I tried my hardest not to think of the table that existed behind me. I was still upset and I wasn't going to ignore that, but I could try my hardest to ignore _them_.


	6. Elvis

**Author's Note:** _So, this is a TINY chapter… just something I thought was cute and followed up the previous chapter. Anyway, enjoy the cute fluffiness now while you can, the next chapter will be good :). _

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Elvis

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating****: T… 13+… language and possible sexual content in future**

**Disclaimer****: I DO NOT own Camp Rock or its characters. I do own the theme and plot of this story as well as my own characters.**

"Natey, you know you want to…" I said in a baby voice as I held up a small, pink, stuffed pig to his face.

"Get that thing out of my face," Nate scuffed as he shoved away the pig. I dropped my jaw in disapproval.

Last night after dinner while we were waiting to pay, Nate went off and bought the pig that he had picked out earlier. Now we were on the tour bus on our way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

"Nate," I said lowering the pig and adopting a more serious tone, "please."

He looked over at me, eyes squinted. Nate stared at me for a moment and I stared back, but he knew this was a battle that he wasn't going to win. "Fine," he huffed and threw the remote at me.

I smiled victoriously. We were arguing, but not seriously of course, over what to watch. Nate and I never seriously argued. I picked up the remote and switched the channel from a re-run of Heroes to a re-run of DeGrassi. I know that Nate secretly likes DeGrassi, but he just doesn't like to admit it.

I set the remote down on the coffee table and sat on the couch with my legs underneath me. Nate looked over at me, well, actually, the pig that was in my lap.

"You like your pig?" he asked almost rhetorically, probably because I had it brought it with me instead of leaving it in the van.

I smiled brightly. "I love him… I just can't think of a name," I said with a defeated tone.

Nate stared at the stuffed animal and then picked him up out of my lap. He held it up at face level and stared at it. "Hm," he sighed, his eyebrows drawn close together. I pursed my lips together tightly to try and stifle the laughter that was starting to form inside of me at his expression.

"Elvis," Nate said decidedly, handing me the pig.

"Elvis," I repeated looking at the gift from Nate. I was looking for something like Mr. Snuffles, but I really liked Elvis. "Are you naming him after Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?" I asked looking back up at Nate.

"You're seriously asking me that?" Nate asked surprised.

"Costello," we both said at the same time. I knew that was the answer but for some reason, the question was unavoidable. I hugged Elvis up against my chest and turned my attention to the television screen and into the drama filled world of Manny Santos and her topless affairs.

**A/N:** _Thank you for reviewing! Reviews are greatly appreciated!_


	7. Irk Me

**Author's Note:** _Okay, so here is chapter 7! I like it, I think it's good, I hope you do too! Anyway, down to business… Maddie Cyrus is based off of Miley Cyrus, I hope the connection isn't too obvious. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Irk Me

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating****: T… 13+… for minor language usage and possible sexual content in the future**

**Disclaimer****: I DO NOT own Camp Rock, it's characters, related themes, or songs. I do not mean to slander anyone in this story. This is a work of fiction and any relation to actual happenings and event are completely coincidental. I do own my original characters, plots, and themes. **

* * *

"It seems that Katy Taylor of SubZero, a new sister pop rock duo whose catchy, hit-bound, debut single, Over It, dropped last week, has set her eyes on newly single Nate Gray of Connect Three. An insider tells us, "Katy used to have a 'Jonas Wall' and would often joke that she was engaged to Nate in Jr. High." Nate, however, seems to be returning the vibe. "Whenever they stop somewhere on tour [Nick and Katy] often run off together," the insider adds.

Could it be that Nate G has a thing for his tour buddies? Nate's infamous relationship with pop star Maddie Cyrus started when his band opened for her on the Finest of Two Worlds Tour in '07."

* * *

"You have to be kidding me," I blurt out as I ripped the J-14 magazine from Ellie's hands.

She had been reading me an excerpt from an article, but I thought she was kidding. Apparently, she wasn't. In big, bold, pink letters read "Gray Summer Tour Fling" on top of the page. How ridiculous, I thought. I threw the magazine across our crummy motel room and grunted as it hit the door with a thud and fell to the ground.

"Hey!" Ellie yelped as she flew off her bed after the piece of trash, "I just bought that."

"Traitor," I mumbled and she glared at where I was sitting on my bed.

"Seriously, Katy, you had to know that rumors would start. I mean mom asks you herself if ya'll are dating almost daily," she said as she settled back onto her hard mattress and itchy covers.

"Yeah," I agreed, "but that's _mom_."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Who cares? Point is, you two _do_ spend a lot of time together, you can't blame people for just wondering… which brings me to a question," she paused and then said all hyper-like and fast, her eyes getting big, "do you like him?"

"Ellie!" I yelled and threw a pillow at her, "We are _friends_. You're as bad as the reporters!"

Ellie cursed silently that I hit her in the face with a pillow and then said, "Just asking."

I rolled my eyes and lay back on my rock-hard mattress. Sometimes, I'd rather sleep in the van. I stared at the stained yellow ceiling and then heard Play My Music coming from my phone.

"Nick's calling," Ellie said in a menacing voice. I knew what she was implying and it was driving me crazy.

"I know, I'm not deaf," I scowled and tried to make it sound as rude as I could, but it had the opposite effect and only made her smile grow larger.

I picked up the phone up off the side table and flipped the red Razr open. "Hello," I said, irritation still in my voice.

"Bad time?" Nate's smooth voice said over the phone.

"Oh sorry, Ellie's just driving me insane," I said looking directly at her and she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Ah," he said, "well, I was just calling to say goodnight."

"How thoughtful," I said in a mocking manner.

"I know, aren't I?"

"Whatever."

"You know it."

"Goodnight Nate," I said.

"Goodnight Katy," he replied, "see you in the morning. Oh, and tell the squirt goodnight, too."

"Sure," I said as I removed the phone from my ear and closed it.

"I'm going to bed," I told Ellie as I turned off the lamp next to my bed, "and Nate said goodnight."

She looked up from the piece of blasphemy called a magazine as I was settling into the torture instrument I would be using as a bed for the night. "Okay," Ellie smirked, "try not to dream of Nate."

I threw her a classic 'go to Hell look' and turned over. I loved Ellie to death but sometimes she could really irk me and get under my skin.

**A/N:** _Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated, thank you for reading!_


	8. Over and Over and Over

**Author's Note:** _Well, here is chapter… 8, I think. Anyway, I happen to think this chapter is funny, and if you do too, or don't, please leave a review and tell me ALL ABOUT IT! _

**Best Friends, Lovers, and Nate Gray**

Over and Over and Over

_By: Chelsea_

**Rating:**** T… 13+… minor language use**

**Disclaimer****: I do not, I repeat… I DO NOT, own Camp Rock, it's characters, related plots or themes, songs or anything else associated with the wonderful movie and franchise. This story is a work of fiction and any similarities it may have with your life, your granny's life, or your yoga instructor's cousin's life, is completely coincidental. I am not meaning to slander or put down any person, race, gender, nationality, etc. There is no copyright infringement intended. I think that's a pretty good disclaimer, don't you? Oh yeah, I DO own my own original characters and plots. **

The remainder of June passed and July started off the same way. We had already toured the western part of the country and we were now working on the east. Last night we had performed in Baltimore and we working our way the eastern coast.

Turns out we were a hit in the east. We did well in the west, but now we were doing interviews with radio stations and helping to build our hype - however little it was.

As for the rumors of "Naty", they only got worse as June went on. I couldn't even open a teen magazine without an "insider" or "a friend close to Nick/Katy" or a "source" confirming our relationship. The entrance of July didn't change things much besides slightly boosting our small popularity.

Ellie and I were being featured more in the teen magazines and we had even been asked for autographs. Sometimes when we would do radio interviews, a small crowd of about 5 or 10 would greet us, which was a _huge_ confidence booster. Of course, I was also asked about Nick and I during these interviews. I had no other answer than "we are just friends" and I knew that no one believed me. I had never believed celebrities who had used that excuse in the past, but I started to afterwards.

There wasn't a show today; Connect Three is performing on Good Morning America and on the Late Show with David Letterman. So, besides a radio interview in the morning, Ellie and I had the day off.

"Don't you _love_ interviews?" Ellie squealed as we exited the building for BICW 101.4.

"Um," I wrinkled my eyebrows, "yeah, they're the greatest."

"No need for sarcasm," I heard my mother tell me from the other side of Ellie.

I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by 3 girls of a group of about 7 asking for autographs. We smiled, signed their papers, took pictures, and then got into our small black rental car we were using today instead of the van.

"Now," I said cheerily, "that's what _I_ love." I leaned back into the cushion of the backseat. "I don't think I will _ever_ get tired of fans… or autographs or pictures."

My mom smiled at me through the rear-view mirror, "Well what can you expect? You _are_ Disney's newest protégé."

"Whatever," Ellie said, practically reading my mind.

"Believe what you want," my mom said in a sing-song voice, "but they asked Jen when you two would be able to film a commercial for the channel."

I rolled my eyes. "Big deal, that doesn't mean-"

"Ohmygosh! Is it one of those where you draw the mouse ears with a light stick?" Ellie squealed, completely oblivious that she cut me off mid-sentence, "I've always wanted to do one of those!"

I stared at her in disbelief. I couldn't believe she could be so ecstatic over a _commercial_. Sure, it was exciting, really exciting, but jumping up and down in a moving car was unnecessary.

We got back to the motel and Ellie and I went to our room and my mom went into the one she occupied next to us. Ellie immediately ran into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. I walked over and leaned against the doorframe to watch what she was about to do.

Ellie smiled and spoke to the mirror, "Hi, I'm Ellie from SubZero," she grabbed her toothbrush and drew what look like a misshapen heart to me in the air, "and you're watching the Disney Channel."

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously?"

Ellie made a face at me in the mirror and then started over. "Hi, I'm Ellie from…"

I walked into the small motel room that had two double beds squished in along with a table, a TV, and a desk.

I sat down on the bed closest to the window and picked up Elvis, my stuffed pig, off the bed and set him in my lap as I looked around the room. Was my mom right? Were we Disney's latest protégé? If so, maybe we wouldn't be staying in cheap motels that smelled like mold and death much longer.

Play My Music cut into my thoughts. I was hearing the chorus of this song from my phone so much that it was starting to bug me. _I'll have to change his ring tone later__,_ I thought as I dug the phone out of my back pocket.

"Hello," I answered the phone with a fake British accent.

"Hello, have I reached Lady Katy?" Nate replied with the same accent.

"Nah," I said in full on American style, "just Katy."

"Good," Nate said, dropping the accent, "'cause I hear the Lady Katy is _pretty_ stuck up."

"Yeah," I agreed, "me too."

Nate chuckled. "So," he said, "what's up?"

"Ah, nothing besides the fact that Ellie has now _completely_ lost her mind," I told him a little loudly hoping that Ellie would hear.

"I wasn't aware that she had one," Nate said thoughtfully.

"She had a little bit, but it's gone now," I said matter-of-factly.

Nick laughed and then recalled his appearance on Good Morning America. We decided that we would meet up at the Starbuck's in town and do something together in two hours. For about an hour we talked on the phone and, not surprisingly, Ellie stayed in the bathroom and practiced saying one line… over and over and over….

**A/N:** _Well, that was chapter 8 (I confirmed that it IS chapter 8) and I, personally, can't wait for chapter 9…you know, once I write it… _

_Don't forget to review PLEASE!!!! (I asked nicely…)_


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